But by late afternoon, I found myself being led down to the lobby where I was faced with what Lucius had planned and it included a huge heavy duty 4x4. I watched as it was driven and parked directly in front of us making me comment,
“Well, this is unexpected.” His knowing grin was my only reply to this, and I couldn’t help but take a moment to look down the length of him. It was slightly cooler today, so he was now wearing stonewash jeans and a plain charcoal T shirt, that was tight on the arms. But he wasn’t the only one who’d dressed for the cooler weather as I was wearing tight indigo jeans that were rolled at the calf, and a plaid shirt in burgundy red, navy blue with hints of white in the lines that separated the two colours. I wore the shirt open and knotted under my bust with a white vest top underneath. White and red sneakers matched, although from the looks of things, I was missing hiking boots and a beige safari hat!
“Are we going hunting or something, ‘cause despite popular belief among rogues and Mercs, I don’t actually consider killing a sport?” I commented at the sight of the huge Mercedes 4x4. Lucius burst out laughing before grabbing the knot in my shirt and tugging me to his front before telling me,
“You wanted to know what was next, this is next.” I frowned in question then asked,
“Is this why you had me pack a small bag, because you know, I was only kidding with that boy scout stuff and didn’t really peg you for the camping type,” I said as he started to lead me around to my side. Then he opened my door after the man who had driven here handed Lucius the keys.
“Just wait and see,” he told me before grabbing me by the waist and lifting me into the car, adding yet another bossy order,
“Sit your sweet ass down, beautiful.”
“Wow, bossy much…you know, you are lucky you are hot, Mister.” I grumbled with a smirk I couldn’t hide after he got in the car and started her up. This was before we headed out to I had no idea where. I lasted all of about five minutes when I said,
“Oh, come on, this is killing me here! Lucius, where are we going?” He chuckled at my outburst and told me,
“Where do you think, Mount Hebron of course?” My eyes widened at the sound of the name that was written on the map, as it had been the one I had spent weeks researching.
“We are?!” I said, the excitement in my voice easy to hear.
“Once the blood started to run through to the map, you recognized the mountain track from the picture in my office, didn’t you?” he asked making me look sheepish.
“I might have done,” I answered in a cryptic tone that didn’t match my obvious reply.
“It was my home, you know,” he said after a few silent minutes, making me tense and hold myself ridged, as for the first time he was giving me something of himself…a piece of his past.
“But I take it you know where I was born…being the clever little scholar you are,” he added playfully.
“Queriot, a town located south of Jerusalem in Judea,” I told him making him grant a sideways grin.
“Also known as Kerioth, but it is nothing more than ruins now,” he said without any melancholy in his voice, just more matter of fact.
“What was it like?” I asked, making him look thoughtful as we drove through the city in a heavy duty truck that looked right now nothing more than overkill.
“The same sun baked, dry earth in seemingly endless summers, to snowcapped mountains in winter, so basically the weather is what I remember the most, that and olives.” I laughed at his dry humour.
“In truth, I don’t often find my mind going back there,” he admitted surprising me.
“Too painful?” I asked softly, surprised and thrilled that he was finally opening up to me.
“Too old, more like,” he said scoffing first, then going on to say,
“When time seems everlasting, it changes you. Your memories seem more like distant tales whispered from ear to ear until they become barely even the truth in which they were born from.”
“So, what you’re saying is that you don’t miss…”
“Stale flat bread and herding livestock…no, Amelia, I don’t miss that,” he said amused. I honestly tried to picture it, knowing he didn’t even look close to being the same man he once was…Judas Iscariot.
I confess that since being here I had become obsessed in discovering all I could about who was only classed to most as being a traitorous historical figure during the days of Jesus Christ. So, needless to say, that more often than not, it just ended up making me angry. Besides, I didn’t want to learn about it from books or what the bible claimed it to be. I wanted the truth of it from the man himself.
“So, I take it we are going to the mountains and following the map, because you know I have tried to follow the same route and it’s still too vague…for starters the tracks don’t even look to exist anymore,” I told him making him reply cryptically,
“That’s because they don’t.” Naturally, this made me frown in question.
“So where are we going then?”
“Harei Yehuda,” he told me, marking the end of our discussion. I knew this when he said,
“After today, will you do me a favour, Amelia?”
“What?” I asked in a tone that said I was almost afraid to.
“I want you to call home, talk to your father and…”
“My mother?” I finished off on a whisper.
“She is worried and upset, she is also desperate for you to discover the truth and believes she has something important to tell you that will help you understand.” I looked out of the window and watched as we continued through the built-up parts of the city. Then I felt him reach across and take my hand, raising it to his lips to kiss. After this, he held it there and asked in a sincere tone,
“Please?”
I released a deep sigh and nodded, telling him,
“I will… I promise when we get back that I will call her.” He granted me a warm, tender smile that created small creases at the corners of his eyes before he thanked me. One kiss more and my hand was given back to me so he could drop his sunglasses down from his head before changing gear. Twenty minutes later and I soon understood why it was we needed a four-wheel drive, as we started heading up the mountain.
The drive up the mountain had been beautiful and offered amazing views, if not a little bumpy. Hence the heavy duty ride, one I discovered had been what Lucius’ ‘Make it happen’ order had been all about yesterday. I also discovered that Lucius most certainly knew his way around this part of the world. He drove to places that seemed like the road would go nowhere and it was only when we pulled into a clearing that I finally asked,
“Are we here yet?” He laughed once and inquired,
“Be honest, just how long have you wanted to say that?”
“Erm…about five minutes into the drive.” He smirked and told me,
“We have a few hours until night falls.”
“Wait…so we are camping?” He put the car into park, took off his glasses and said with a wink,
“Boy scout, remember?” Then he got out of the car taking a moment to scan the area. I watched as he made his way around to my side before he opened my door and helped me down.